


Frustrating

by maltakano



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Christmas, F/M, Missing Scene, but it could be real so who the hell knows, only j.k. rowling knows, well a fake one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-17 10:14:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5865382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maltakano/pseuds/maltakano
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in OOTP. Ron and Hermione play chess. Hermione tries to explain what a mistletoe is to Ron. There's belligerent sexual tension as always and Harry left early to avoid it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Frustrating

Ron’s a good chess player, Hermione notices. The crease of his brows doesn’t give away his strategic determination to win. In fact, it adds to the finesse that she keeps on noticing more frequently these days. Gone is the boy who teased her and fought with her over miniscule things, sort of. They still fight of course. But it is with less conviction and more playfulness than anyone would expect of them. They keep up a front, solid walls in the form of laughter and smarts. It prevents outsiders from entering the world of their insecurities and they like to keep it that way, thank you very much.

  
“Knight to E5,” he says. She grins a little at the déjà vu, even though in hindsight it was a horrible situation to be in as eleven year olds. Suddenly, Hermione sneezes and Ron takes the opportunity to steal a glance at her mid-sneeze and cracks a grin too. The room had been pleasantly smothering since Harry had left to run some errands. Though Harry didn’t care to admit it, it was probably the fleeting glances and unrelenting tension between Ron and Hermione that had also been the reason as to why he “disappeared” so suddenly.

  
Hermione lets out a frustrated sigh. According to her innate need to be the best all the time, she hadn’t improved her chess skills since first year. She is still losing against Ron and it frustrates her until no end. She looks thoughtfully at the chess pieces in front of her but nothing remotely useful comes to her and despite her tenacity, she chooses to make a feeble attempt in moving forward. So much for being the most brilliant witch of her age, she grumbles to herself.

  
He peers down and immediately recognises how much her move would cost her in the final battle. A chuckle fills up Ron’s lungs and threatens to escape his lips. The mere thought of competitive little Hermione mulling over something incomprehensible in her head makes him find her so endearing. This afterthought and the fact that Hermione was staring expectantly at him had him clearing his throat rather abruptly.

  
Now she is suddenly looking at him in a way that he knows is not proper for their current chess game situation.

  
A heartbeat.

  
The winds battle outside where the windowsills of 12 Grimmauld Place are covered in snow and suddenly the noise of the other Weasleys in the household die down a notch. Ron’s eyes are wild, open, and vulnerable. Hermione’s are searching for an explanation, her mind calculating the rise and fall of her lungs and her heartbeat pounding against her chest.

  
“Why are you looking at me like that?” He asks.

  
“Like what?” She snaps and so does the spell she seems to have cast upon him. The tinge of pink around Ron’s ears are becoming a distraction but the moment is gone for now and so is all hope of completing a decent chess game with each other.

  
“Nevermind.” He grumbles under his breath. Yet another missed opportunity. He grimaces as he tries to think of a topic to break the silence bound to ensue from silent and slightly irritated Hermione.

  
“So what are mistletoes hung up for?” It’s the first topic that comes to mind and he looks eagerly at Hermione. He cracks a small grin when he sees that her mood instantly lifted.

  
“Well—” she twirls a curl of hair around her finger, “it’s to keep witches away.”

  
And there’s a sparkle in her eye as she presses her lips into a thin line. She’s trying to suppress the rest of her textbook answer and Ron realises that it’s partially his fault that she is doing so. He mentally curses his juvenile behaviour, wishing that he could reprimand his younger self for ever doubting Hermione. Ron sits patiently as she finally lets out a breath, the sparkle never leaving her eye as she continues.

  
“It’s also a symbol of life and fertility in this somewhat desolate world, it’s extraordinary magic—” she sighs a bit too happily before quickly adding, “and the muggles love it!”

  
Hermione looks like she’s about to panic when Ron doesn’t respond. He sits there looking shy and feeling awkward that he doesn’t know more of her muggle traditions. She’s making up her mind about something but her eyes are inviting and the temperature of the room seems to spike up a little. Finally, she conjures up a mistletoe from across the room with a simple wingardium leviosa, and smirks a bit at the memory of sitting next to an annoyed Ron in Professor Flitwick’s charms class in their first year at Hogwarts.  
Ron receives one of Hermione’s expectant looks again and once again it confuses him. He’s confused about the green thing above their heads and why his palms are sweaty.

  
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, ‘mione.” Ron whines and his lips purse into a pout.

  
With a frustrated huff she leans over the chessboard to almost embrace his face with her hands. It’s all very clumsy and messy but her lips are pressing hard onto his in pent up frustration of every kind.

  
“Bloody hell Hermione.” Ron’s sudden reaction shocks Hermione and she breaks from the kiss. Her eyebrows furrow, confused as to whether or not she had made a mistake. The fact that for the second time tonight Hermione wasn’t sure about something makes him grin even wider.

  
As Hermione gets to her feet, he tugs insistently on the hem of her shirt. She would have slapped his hand away if it wasn’t for her eagerness for him to do more than just tug at the flimsy material. The goofy grin begins to take over his face in an ear-splitting manner before he whispers lowly. “That was one heck of a kiss”.

  
His fingertips brush lightly over her feverish skin and she shivers in response. Now be it from the coldness of outside or Ron’s fingertips she didn’t know and she would never admit that it was the latter, yet. As if right on cue in interrupting their further thoughts, there’s a knock at the door before it opens to reveal another ginger head. Ron groans in defeat before Hermione shushes him with a punch to the arm.

  
“Hey uh—” Ginny’s eyes drift from Ron to Hermione’s and there’s a knowing glint in her eye before she stops her smile from widening, “we’re opening presents now so you both better come quick.”

**Author's Note:**

> this was a gift to a tumblr user for a secret santa event in 2015 and i thought i should upstart my online publishing again so here this is


End file.
